


Your grin's the sweetest that I've ever seen

by ofwritingnonsense (Starlight_Mess)



Series: Got nowhere to go [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Sweetheart, Asexual Morality | Patton Sanders, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Autistic Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders Has Vitiligo, Deceit | Janus Sanders is a Sweetheart, Family Dynamics, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Janus is a psychologist, Janus is greek, Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstandings, Morality | Patton Sanders is Anxiety | Virgil Sanders' Parent, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Sweetheart, Patton and Thomas are siblings, Patton and Thomas own a dog cafe, Quarantine, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Teenage Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Virgil Has ADHD, but it's mentioned like twice, can't believe I forgot to tag that, demisexual Janus, mentions of aphobia, mentions of bad parenting, roman is nonbinary, that's like a major thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25365937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlight_Mess/pseuds/ofwritingnonsense
Summary: Patton's gotten a boyfriend.Virgil doesn't quite know how to react.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders & Thomas Sanders
Series: Got nowhere to go [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837939
Comments: 13
Kudos: 144





	Your grin's the sweetest that I've ever seen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MrM0ss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrM0ss/gifts).



"Lo, why does the universe hate me?" Virgil flopped onto his bed, holding his phone to his ear.

"It is  _ highly _ improbable that the universe hates you, considering the universe is pure matter and doesn't have the capacity to experience hate." Logan's voice filtered out of the speaker in the  slightly distorted way it always did. "That  being said, what's happened?" Virgil groaned.

"Dad's boyfriend is staying here for the duration of quarantine." This, in itself, doesn't sound awful.  However, when you have past knowledge  regarding the situation, like Logan does, this sounds like a recipe for disaster.

It all started when Virgil's dad, Patton, came out as biromantic asexual. Virgil was ecstatic to know that he wasn't alone in liking the same gender, but his (ex-)mother disagreed. She filed for a divorce the same week, almost taking Virgil with her. Patton had been heartbroken.  The months went by; Patton forcing a smile on his face to stay strong for Virgil, while Virgil worried to Logan about his dad's mental state.

("What if he stops being able to cope and decides to k-"

"V, he's _not_ going to do that, he loves you too much to leave you. If you're that worried, get him to go to therapy.")

Despite Virgil's worries, Patton did indeed get better. His smiles became more real, his laughs sounded less fake. And it was all because of one person: Janus Diakos.

They'd met in the hospital. 

A regular customer of Patton's prized dog cafe had broken down in tears one day.  They were around Virgil's age, although a bit taller, with dark skin and brown eyes that reflected the light coming through the window through their tears. Patton immediately stopped what he was doing to comfort them.

"My parents shipped my twin brother off to a mental hospital while I was away on a trip to Italy with my theatre troupe. They won't even take me to see him." They had explained. Patton's heart broke for them, immediately offering to take them to see their brother if they wanted. The poor teenager  just cried harder as he called his brother, Thomas, to look after the cafe.

That was how Patton found himself at a mental hospital on the other side of the city.  The receptionist directed them to the room of 'Dr. Diakos', a psychologist who was the one in charge of Roman's brother.

Patton stopped in awe. Dr. Diakos was stunning.  His dark hair  was pulled up into a messy bun, revealing the splotches of lighter skin on the left side of his face and his clear eyes - one a blue-grey best compared to the sky, one a deep brown. He wore a yellow shirt with the top button undone and black trousers that fit his lean figure  perfectly. Patton was  just a weak bi, he  was infatuated immediately.

"Hello, can I help you Mr..." Diakos trailed off. Patton coughed, a slight red dusting his cheeks as Janus' accented voice pulls him back to reality.

"Sanders. Patton Sanders." Janus smiled.

"Well then, Mr. Sanders, how can I help you?"

"This is Roman Prince," Patton gestured to where Roman was hiding behind him, "We  were told their brother  was admitted here while they were in Italy and wanted to know if it was possible to see him at any point."

"Ah, Remus Prince, right?" Roman nodded  shyly. "Yes, he came in  just last month. He's doing quite well actually. Now let's see... Ah! Yes, he's allowed visitors at the moment."

"Can I see him? Like _right_ now?" Roman looked like he was about to start crying again. Janus smiled, striding out of the office and gesturing to follow him.

He led them to a room with the name 'Remus Prince' written on the clipboard. He knocked  lightly and unlocked it, poking his head through.

"Hey, Remus, you've got a guest!"

"That's impossible, the _only_ person who would even care would _never_ be able to get here. I'm too freaky for _them_ to let them." The voice sounded resigned, but maniacal at the same time. It was enough to bring Roman's tears over again. They pushed past Janus with a teary cry of " _Remus!_ " 

Janus joined Patton out in the corridor as the twins' reunion became more teary. 

"Aren't you going to join them?" Patton started panicking. How do you explain that these kids are  practically strangers to you without seeming like a creep?

"Oh, uh, I don't actually know Remus.  Roman's a regular at my cafe, and they had a bit of a breakdown because their parents wouldn't let them go see him, so I offered to take them here. My son, Virgil, is their age, so I guess my parental instincts kicked in." Janus looked at him with something in his eyes that he couldn't quite place.

"You talk about your son with a glow in your eye that isn't  typically there in most fathers. You love him a lot, don't you?" A proud smile drifted onto Patton's face.

"Very much so. He's all I've got now."

"Oh, did something happen to his mother?" Patton's gaze darkened.

"She left because I came out as asexual. Took almost everything with her."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Patton's smile was back. "It's in the past now, Dr. Diakos."

"But the past can still upset you." Janus pointed out. "And please, call me Janus."

After that first meeting, Patton went with Roman to visit Remus quite often, giving Roman a way to use their wheelchair and not their prosthetics like their parents always forced them to. Eventually, Janus ended up at the cafe (Patton dropped a cup when he saw him there for the first time. Thomas didn't stop laughing for _hours_ ).  Short meetings turned into messaging late into the night, into hanging out after Janus got off of work, and hangouts  eventually turned into dates. Patton was pretty much glowing when he told Virgil that he had a boyfriend.

It was easy to see that Virgil didn't like Janus. Sure, he kept it hidden from Patton, but to anyone else, the animosity was _clear_. He always argued the opposite points, even when Janus was right. He 'accidentally' left messes around him. His tone was always guarded and antagonistic around him, to the point that even Logan had picked up on it.

(" Seriously, Virgil, if I, _an autistic person_ , can tell that your tone is antagonistic when talking to Janus, then you  _ really _ need to work on your acting skills.")

This brings us back to the problem in hand: Janus staying over during quarantine. 

"Oh dear. You gonna survive, V?" He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream, make a fuss, get Patton to break up with the bastard - but he wouldn't.  Patton's happiness meant more to him than anything else, and if Patton was happy with Janus, then Virgil wouldn't get in the way.

" Hopefully. I'll try to avoid him, for dad's sake. I don't want to get into any arguments and make him upset."

"Have you tried talking to him about why you act like this?" Virgil almost dropped his phone.

"Logan, why the _FUCK_ would I do that?"

"It was  just a suggestion! Besides, he might be better than you think!" He scoffed, fiddling with the strings of his hoodie. Are they talking about the same person?

" Honestly, Lo, there's _no_ way that he's better. I'm  just going to have to be here to pick up the pieces when he  inevitably leaves." Logan's sigh distorted the sound even more.

" Honestly, V, why do you even hate the guy so much? What's he done to make you hate him?" There wasn't actually any concrete reasoning for Virgil's hatred. Not from anyone else's perspective.

It was  just that Janus had managed to do the _one_ thing Virgil couldn't - make Patton's smile true. That, and the fact that Janus was always analysing him, to the point that he always knows how Virgil  truly feels. It  just wasn't _fair_ that this guy turns up and somehow knows Virgil better than he knows himself.

On top of that, Janus was  _ absolutely _ taking Patton away from him.  His dad loves him to the point where Virgil feels left behind, and Janus is  just going to break his heart like all the others do! It's  just _not fair_.

"Because he's  just going to hurt dad like everyone else does Logan! Why else?" Logan made a noncommittal noise that  clearly states that he does not believe him.

"And if he doesn't?"

"What?"

"If he doesn't hurt your dad, will you continue to hate him?" Virgil stayed silent. "Look, man, I don't get your emotions on this and that's okay. I will _still_ be your friend if you warm up to Janus or if you don't. I love you, man, okay?"

"Yeah, love you too, Lo. You're the best friend I could ask for."

"I should hope so, who else can deal with your anxious ADHD ass during exam season?" Virgil laughed. "Anyway, I've got to go, I've got studying to do now."  Logan's schedule is very specific, and he never breaks away from it - studying always comes after talking to Virgil.

"Yeah, see you man, have fun." Virgil hung up.  He stared at Logan's contact for a few minutes, dreading the next few months when he wouldn't be able to see his best friend. Sighing, he switched to spotify, pressing shuffle and humming along when 'Everything is alright' by Motion City Soundtrack started playing. He lay there with his eyes closed, losing himself to the music and forgetting that time existed as one song became two and then three, four, five.

A knock sounded.

"Yeah?" He pushed one side of his headphones off his ear.

"Hey, Virgil, can I come in?" Virgil tensed at the voice at his doorway.

"Sure, what do you want?" He refused to look at Janus. The bed dipped.

"I wanted to apologise." He broke his promise to himself. His head snapped up staring at Janus in shock. "It wasn't fair for me and Patton to agree on me staying here without asking you and, for that, I'm sorry."

Virgil continued staring. He couldn't believe his ears - Janus? Apologising? To _him_?

"Virgil? Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry,  just didn't expect that." Janus let out a soft laugh.

"Yeah, we didn't have the best start, did we?" This was _not_ going the way Virgil had expected. "For the record, I am aware of what she did. And I promise you, Virgil, I will never _ever_ do that to your father or to you." Janus looked at him with a serious expression on his face, the kind that Virgil had never seen before.

"I-" Virgil wasn't sure what to say. "Thank you. He loves you a lot, and I don't want to see him that upset and heartbroken again." Janus smiled  wryly

"If it helps, I love him the same amount, so I know where you're coming from. I'm actually demisexual as well, so you don't need to worry about that driving me away." Virgil's poor brain couldn't keep up. "He loves you _far_ more than he loves me, you know.  When we first started talking, he called you the best thing that ever happened to him, with the sparkly kind of look in his eyes that he has when he's  _ truly _ happy.

"I- _You_ \- He-" Virgil's eyes were wide. "I swear I can talk like a normal person, my ADHD brain is  just trying to catch up with what you're saying."

"That's fair. I thought that you should know that he's not trying to replace you with me. He cares about you far too much for that." Janus laughed.

"... Thank you. For telling me that, I mean."

"It's no problem." Janus turned a bit further towards him, "Oh, by the way, what eyeliner do you use? It never seems to fade, unlike mine." After a few moments of staring in shock, Virgil blurted out

"You want to know what makeup I use?" Janus nodded.

"I did say that, yes."

"Uh, hold on, I use a few different eyeliners and now I've got to try and remember their names."

"Take your time, there's no rush."

"Dinner's ready!" The call came from downstairs. Virgil started.

"I hadn't realised it had been _that_ long!"

"Let's go down, you can tell me whenever you remember. If you have any tips for concealers, I'll take that as well. Some people get so _fussy_ when they see medical professionals with tattoos." Janus shook his head, staring at the tattoo spanning his forearm. It was a double-headed snake, and he considered it to be one of the best decisions of his life. "You'd think they'd be fine with it, considering they're fine with my vitiligo, but _no_."

Virgil stared at Janus again. Had he always been this... this _cool?_ Had he just been blinded by his fears and jealousy?

"Let's go, _old man_ , before dad eats everything without us."

"Who d'ya think you're calling old, _kiddo_?" Damn. Logan had been right. Like always. Virgil  really had to listen to him more often. He smirked

"First one down there gets a kiss from dad."

\----

Message: 

V: _Okay, Lo. You were right. He isn't all that bad._

\----

Patton smiled. Unlike many others in the past, this one reached his eyes. Despite how it often seemed, he wasn't oblivious. He knew how Virgil had felt. He was his _dad_ ; he knows him better than anyone else.  That's why he had asked Janus to stay with them - because it would help Virgil realise that this isn't the past, that Janus was not like her.

That is why Patton smiled. Watching them have an animated discussion over the uses of makeup, he knew that it would work out. He had his family again - a bit broken, but beautiful.  Just how it should be.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Honeybee by Steam Powered Giraffe. 
> 
> This is my first fic on AO3 and also my first Sanders Sides fic! So if there's anything else I forgot to tag, please let me know. Also, this is not beta'd, so there may be some mistakes.
> 
> Let it be said that I don't know anything about mental hospitals, so this isn't accurate at all XD
> 
> Anyway, this was written for my amazing qpp! He is 100% the reason that I am confident enough in my work to post it, and furthers my idiocy that helps me to create things!! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> find me on tumblr: @/sanders-sides-andmylifesometimes / @/can-kue-stop


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